Our Pledge to You

Dear Donor,

Thank you for making your gift to Georgia Strait Alliance! We truly appreciate and recognize the benefits of all sizes of gifts within our daily work of restoring, protecting and sustaining the Georgia Strait and the communities who live, work and play in our region. As our supporter, you can be assured that we are committed to informing you, serving your philanthropic intentions, and presenting ourselves in a professional manner in all our interactions.

We will use your gift wisely so that you will be confident that your gift will be used for its intended purpose. Additionally, we do everything possible to reduce our administrative costs so that the funds you provide are directed in the most efficient way possible. When you find it most appropriate, we will work with your personal financial representative or legal counsel to help you fulfill your philanthropic wishes, insuring that your charitable gift planning will have full reciprocal benefit.

In the year of each of your gifts, we will show our appreciation by listing you on our website and, for those donating $100 or more, in our Annual Report. At the time you make the gift, we will send you a letter of appreciation and an official charitable tax receipt. Donors of $500 or more will also receive a phone call from our Board President, so that we may get to know you better and say thank you in person! All donors of $100 or more will also appear in our newsletter Strait Talk. If you are a monthly donor, look for your special recognition in our spring newsletter.

As a special offer to our sustaining and monthly donors, we will extend a special invitation to our events and activities. And certainly, if you wish to provide your gift in anonymity, we will honour your request.

Georgia Strait Alliance will never lend, give or sell any personal information, including information that is publicly accessible, such as your address or email. We truly protect and respect your right to privacy.

We at Georgia Strait Alliance endorse the following principles:

Donor Bill of Rights

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.

To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.

To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

The text of this statement in its entirety was developed by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).